Intel Announces First Optane SSDs for Data Centers

Intel does a lot more than just make CPUs and one of its promising memory technologies is finally coming to products. Developed with Micron, 3D XPoint memory is a new memory technology that can reach speeds up to 1000 times faster than the NAND memory we have all come to love, while also being 10 times denser. Those are definitely desirable characteristics and Intel has finally announced its Optane SSDs, which are targeting data centers first.

The Intel Optane SSD DC P4800X Series is a 375 GB drive that can be used to increase the storage capacity of a server while also providing consistently high performance at a latency of less than 10 microseconds. Combined with Intel Memory Drive Technology, the drive will act like DRAM to the system, significantly increasing the amount of available memory to operating system and applications.

If you happen to be part of Intel's early ship program, the Optane SSD DC 4800X Series is now available to you, so you can start upgrading your data centers. Additional capacities and form factors are to be available in the second half of this year. Hopefully it will not be too long before this can start reaching consumer computers.